Cincinnati's streetcar line workers are stirring slowly to life after a holiday of uncertainty.

"The problem is getting hold of everyone," construction engineer Dave Krusling said. "Everyone is happy. We were starting on the project, and we want to see it through. We're glad that city council came through and decided that it was a worthwhile project to finish."

The controversial streetcar project survived a vow by newly elected Mayor John Cranley to derail it for good because of the price tag.

A 6-3 vote by the city council last week prevented him from doing that.

The council decided to move forward with the project after learning that the city already has spent $34 million on it, and the costs to stop the streetcar could have topped $80 million. A foundation's donation and SORTA's acceptance of the operating costs for the streetcar helped push the project forward.

The first concrete pour of the restart is scheduled for Jan. 2. It will be about a year before specially fabricated curved track is delivered.

Engineers said they can't be certain, but they believe the construction timetable has not been irreversibly impacted by the delay. For now, workers said they are happy to be back.